Ever work at a store with an intercom system? "Cleanup on aisle four." There's always the temptation to say something funny into it, to make a weird noise or cough or confuse the customers. And there's the amusement that happens when somebody new uses it. "Uhh... (click, buzz) is this... hey boss, uh, come here." The Metro intercoms seem to be mostly used for incoherent announcements about "trains... and stations" and things of that nature,... more ›

Dr. Billy Taylor (pictured with his trio) is a walking history of jazz. He began playing professionally in 1944, and in that capacity he has composed over 350 songs, performed with legends such as Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and led his own trio for decades. The numerous awards Taylor garnered as a performer and educator include 23 honorary doctoral degrees, two Peabody Awards, an Emmy, a Grammy, and the National Medal of the... more ›

In a town where motorcades are less a spectacle and more an annoyance, Mayor Adrian Fenty's modest security detail has never raised many eyebrows. But now Fenty has done away with it altogether -- and no one really knows why. According to a Post report, Fenty has decided to ditch the police security detail and drive himself around during the month of August instead. And beyond simply shedding daily armed protection, Fenty has also been... more ›

Amy Domingues is busy. Aside from being a full time cello teacher, and aside from being the go-to cellist for local musicians (having played on records by Fugazi, Bob Mould, Ted Leo, Jenny Toomey, and Benjy Ferree, among many others), Amy also has her own band, Garland of Hours. The band is a shifting cast of characters; past players include Brendan Canty, Devin Ocampo, Jerry Busher and Mary Timony, and pretty much any of... more ›

For reasons that I understand but dislike, new operas are the hardest tickets for most American companies to sell. For Washington National Opera, whose audience is largely allergic to anything outside the familiar repertory, it must be difficult to reconcile what a major American opera company should be doing — performing recent operas and commissioning new ones — with the overwhelming concern for the bottom line. All the more reason, then, to praise WNO for... more ›

Continuing our brief series on the new and shiny members of the art community, we move from the chaotic to the highly structured, with recent Maryland Institute College of Art, MFA recipient Courtney Jordan. Smitten with art and mostly self-taught, Jordan's paintings and ink drawings breathe new life into the architecture we've stopped seeing for all its designed beauty. Having grown up in New York, she's drawn to bridges and industrial creations. Irvine Contemporary was... more ›

Editor's Note: Last year, law student extraordinaire and DCist intern Judy Coleman explored some important U.S. Supreme Court cases and their impact on the District in a feature known as Stare DCisis. This year we're happy to have her back as something of a legal correspondent and, hopefully, pro bono lawyer. Over the summer she'll be reporting on important legal issues and, consequently, making the rest of us look like dunces. This DCist keeps some... more ›

DCist caught up with Pete Bauer of The Walkmen this weekend as the band is about to start touring for their excellent new album, A Hundred Miles Off. The Walkmen play Thursday night at the 9:30 Club, and while we wish them all the luck in the world and a sold out crowd, there's sure to be a palpable absence of DCist readers present, as we're hosting Unbuckled, simultaneously. Update: After posting this interview, Hamilton... more ›

Franklin Foer, a longtime writer for The New Republic, was recently named editor of the venerable political magazine. A fourth generation Washingtonian, he's authored a book called, "How Soccer Explains the World," (which we heartily recommend), and his writing has appeared in a host of publications, from The New York Times to Spin. Mr. Foer was good enough to take a few of our questions, on blogging, city life, and those cursed Chelski footballers. What's... more ›

Dude, Where's My Car? While car theft isn't a laughing matter, we chuckled for a very brief moment when we heard that Police Chief Charles Ramsey's car was stolen over the weekend. The AP, via WTOP, reports that the chief's 1999 Ford Crown Victoria was stolen after being parked near his house by a police officer when Ramsey was out of town. On Ramsey's way to church Sunday morning, the car was nowhere to be... more ›

It was an all-European, all-the-time line up last night at the 9:30 Club as DCist headed out to see a bill of Long-View, a group from Manchester, Scottish quintet Dogs Die In Hot Cars and Parisian band Phoenix. Though we'd been hearing some buzz surrounding all three groups, especially following Long-View and DDIHC's recent performances at SXSW, we went into the concert without any expectations, but came out pleasantly surprised.

The best word we can think of to describe openers Long-View and their style is "sleepy." Their music, while polished and pretty, didn't do too much to keep us awake during their set, and even the band members looked like they had rolled right out of bed with their mussed-up hair and droopy eyes. Though we didn't find their performance particularly energetic, lead vocalist Rob McVey has a lovely voice, and some of their catchier, dreamier songs were a pleasure to listen to.

Dogs Die In Hot Cars, despite their terrible, terrible name, played a set full of energy and charming abandon. But their singles, "I Love You Because I Have To" and "Godhopping," with their new wave-y hooks and almost ska-like undertones, were the only songs of the set that really stood out to us. The rest of the tunes sounded like a pastiche of Talking Heads and Dexys Midnight Runners -- not necessarily a bad thing, and the band compensated with their playful, exuberant performance -- but much of their music seemed like a syrupy rehash of
songs that sounded better the first time they came around in the 1990s.

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